Unit 64: Motion Graphics and
Compositing
Safa Radwan
In this
written report, I will be writing about the current uses of motion graphics and
compositing video.
Uses
Motion
graphics have many different uses, and are used for different types of mediums today.
Some include;
DVD menus
& interfaces
(DVD
movie interface from Elephants Dream. Screenshot from https://orange.blender.org/wp-content/themes/orange/images/blog/ED_PiP.jpg )
The
interface for the DVD needs to clearly and easily point the viewer to the options,
including the play button, the most important. Most DVD menus have scenes from
their movie in the background, or animate an entirely new scene all together
for the menu screen.
Web
banner
(Car
advertisement for Amoco ultimate, by graphic designer, Steve Scott. Image used
from https://iwritegood.com/BP-Web-Banners )
Web
banners are normally used for advertisement. Some of these web banners change
or play an animation when you roll your mouse over them, others can enlarge and
display a huge animation.
Title/credit
sequences
To start
the movie, and get the viewers pumped, many high budget movies have a unique
animation sequence to the original source. Examples of movies that do this, are
Spiderman Homecoming (linked above), and the James Bond movies. These title
sequences do not include most of the credits, only a few leading actors,
directors, and other important names. They are mostly used, as previously
mentioned, to engage the audience, and also foreshadow moments that will happen
later.
Credit
sequences are a little different. They are legally obligated to list the staff
worked on the project, however, many movies still have animated characters, and
other visual effects to encourage fans to stay during the credits. Some even
have post-credits scenes, cut outs, and bloopers after the credits
(Credits
of movie Flushed Away. Screenshot: http://cyberspaceandtime.com/7ZzmgEgDG6o.video+related )
Animated
captions
Animated are rarely used in movies, and
are normally seen in games shows, and video games, which are more interactive
than the former mediums.
(Use of animated captions on Channel
Nine’s Hot Seat. Screenshot: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2877017/Hot-Seat-contestant-fails-answer-obvious-question-correctly.html )
(Animated captions in the game New York
Mysteries: Secrets of the Mafia. Image: https://www.giantbomb.com/new-york-mysteries-secrets-of-the-mafia/3030-50656/ )
These mediums are more interactive, and
allow the viewer to have a better understanding on what is going on.
Idents
& Stings
Although
very similar, TV idents and stings are not the same.
A TV
ident is used to let the viewer know what channel they are watching. Idents are
normally longer than a sting, and are required by law to broadcast, so the
viewer knows what channel they are watching (ident being short for
identification).
Stings
are used to advertise the channel, and grab the viewers’ attention.
Both are
played during advertisement; however, Idents are normally just before or just
after an episode/movie airs on TV.
(TV ident for Adult Swim, featuring
characters from Rick & Morty. Screenshot: https://vimeo.com/205300496 )
They are
normally eye-catching, abstract, and artistic. Sometimes they entice people to
watch their channel, or show they were advertising.
Characteristics
Graphics,
movement, and visual effects…
Like
above, different types of motion graphics are used for different purposes. For example,
a sting’s normally appealing, flashy, contain lots of movement, showing
different scenes of the show they want to advertise, or a new animation for the
string can sometimes be used all together.
(Sting for Cartoon Network, featuring
characters from Steven Universe. Screenshot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZu_xNXVgjk )
Take note
of the limited colour palette (pink & blue) and simple designs used above
for the graphics. This is because it is a short animation used between adverts,
and wouldn’t be worth putting too much time and resources into creating
something with high quality animation and dazzling visual effects – it is made
to fit its purpose.
(Title
sequence from James Bond Skyfall. Screenshot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4gdhsVKTcs&t=0s&list=PLNpgn9OQwUD4U-nbUSrYN6M-6HPuDNHA_&index=24 )
This
however, being the next instalment from a long line of popular James bond
movies, has a high budget, so they can add many visual effect and editing to
look extraordinary.
Technology considerations
Screen
ratio & resolution
The
accepted screen resolutions for motion graphics to appear in, is the 16:9 aspect
ratio. These includes the widely-used resolutions; 1366x768 and 1920x1080
pixels (more commonly known as 780p and 1080p). This is because most monitors
around the world run in this resolution/dimensions, so it is expected that most
resolutions run on this.
Codrut Neagu. (November,
2018). What do the 720p, 1080p, 1440p, 2K, 4K and 8K resolutions mean?
What are the aspect ratio & orientation? Available:
https://www.digitalcitizen.life/what-screen-resolution-or-aspect-ratio-what-do-720p-1080i-1080p-mean.
Last accessed 31st Jan 2019.
Video
format
Common
video format includes; AVI, MOV, MKV, MP4. However, for TV they use different
formats, that are a lot higher in quality. These are; HD, SD, PAL, with HD
being the highest quality, as stated above, normally run on 780p and 1080p.
Christine Smith.
(September, 2013). What You Need to Know About the 5 Most Common Video
File Formats. Available: https://www.motionelements.com/blog/articles/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-5-most-common-video-file-formats.
Last accessed 31st Jan 2019.
Frame
rate
This
refers to the number of drawings/shots per second. Live action films and online
videos are usually 30 frames per second, and animation & movies are 24
frames per second.
24 frames
add an element of motion blur; however, it also loses a cinematic effect.
However,
they do not always follow this standard - for example the Hobbit used 48fps,
the reasoning behind this is to give the film a more realistic feeling. Audience
did not react positively with this, however. Some viewers complained that
scenes were ‘too realistic’. Like it or not, movies are becoming more equipped
to show higher frame rates, and some theatres can show up to 120fps.
David Cardinal.
(December, 2013). Why movies like The Hobbit are moving from 24 to 48
fps. Available:
https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/128113-why-movies-are-moving-from-24-to-48-fps.
Last accessed 31st Jan 2019.
Compression
Video
compression is a software used to make your video file smaller. This is used to
transfer and view video files. Doing this, you can also save your file as an
easy to access viewing file, as not everybody can open .SWF or .TLV, however by
compressing it into an MP4 or MOV, it makes viewing a lot more available.
Fawei Geng. (October,
2013). How to compress large video files without losing quality using
Handbrake. Available:
http://blogs.it.ox.ac.uk/adamweblearn/2013/10/how-to-compress-large-video-files-without-losing-quality-using-handbrake/.
Last accessed 31st Jan 2019.
This
concludes my report for motion graphics and compositing.
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